Trottin' with the #1 Fan

To a Runner, evidently, Thanksgiving is more than about gorging yourself on too much poultry and vegetables somehow made unhealthy. And pie.

Runners like to Trot on Thanksgiving. To do a lil' run to kick-start your day. Turkey Trots tend to be shorter distances such as 5K (3.1 miles) or 5 milers and are often run/walks. They're great if you're thinking of even running your first race.

I was home in Plymouth -- home of the first Thanksgiving, y'all! -- and decided to take part in my very first Turkey Trot. The race was a 5K "out and back" route along a dirt road, one of the oldest in the country. It's always nice to run a nice dirt trail, in my opinion, because it can be easier on the knees. I sound like such an old lady sometimes.

So I got up in the morning and told my Mom (Myra) I was goin' racing. In my New York City Marathon orange Finishers' shirt. And that she was coming.

Myra is a damn gem because despite a lot of other crappy stuff going on in our lives, she doesn't hesitate for a second to come be my cheerleader and #1 Fan. I race and I run because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good and -- during times like these -- it helps me deal with the "rest" of my life. But my Mom? She just loves to be there for me.

So Mom and I headed down to the start and met up with my lifelong friend Dan and his girlfriend Kelly, who were also running.

We loaded my Mom up with our keys, phones, finishers' T-Shirts, starting line sweats, etc. and then we were on our way!

I had taught my Mom how to use an iphone camera just moments before the starting bell was rung, and she caught this image of me in my orange shirt (near front on right) checkin' my watch:

Yay, Mom! Great job with the photography!

The race field was small (about 600 people), but I finished 25th of all women and 8th in my age/gender group (F20-29) with a personal best record of 24:53, which is an 8:00 mile even. I know a lot of people run faster, so let me just say for the record: "YO, THAT IS SUPER FAST FOR ME!" Glad we cleared that up.

[Side note: super depressed that this will be my last run in this age group.... Har-umph!!!!]

Upon fishing the race, I got this cute medal and we also all got long-sleeved T-shirts. Not bad for a $20 entry.

I think I also saw on the website that first 100 finishers got a prize, and I was number 97 overall...so where's my prize, playas!?!? I'm gonna have Myra look into that for me. She definitely won't play and will bust someone if she has to in order to get me my TROT PRIZE.

Even if I get robbed out of my finishers' spoils, it honestly was a great race and I was very proud of my time. I'm more excited -- however -- that I got to see friends there and have my Mom cheerin' me on at the finish line with the energy and enthusiasm of a little puppy about to get a treat.

...Despite the fact that she took only confused photos of herself with the reverse iPhone camera while I ran by. 

...Which I did not post because I do have a filter of some sort. 

....And I want her to maintain a modicum of dignity.

But because my Mom is -- for reals -- such a good #1 Fan, I thought it might be fun to get her perspective on things. So I interviewed her:

Q (MeriG): I'm going to ask you some questions about the race and my running for my blog because it's going to be cute and funny. Sound good?

A (Mom Of The Year): OK. Is is going to be a hard test?

Q: No. Let's begin. How did you enjoy the race this morning?

A: It was the highlight of my morning!

Q: In fairness, what else did you do today so far?

A: Nothing. :::giggle giggle giggle:::

Q: Clever! Do you like being a spectator when I run races?

A: Yes. I love watching you do what you enjoy doing.

Q: Even when I make you hold all of my stuff? And my friends' stuff?

A: Especially! I enjoy being involved and useful.

Q: Stop hovering over me and changing my punctuation.

A: No, I don't think you should blog this, this is between you and me, I'm leaving. :::starts walking away:::

Q: Come back! So what do you think about this whole running "thing" that I have going on now?

A: I think it's great that you have a passion and something that gives you pleasure and is generally healthy...

Q: Generally?

A: I'm concerned about your obsessiveness but that's you.

Q: Moi? Obsessive? NOoooo...... Anyways, so I'd like you to elaborate to the readers about the conversation we had on the drive to the race. When you told me that even though I could run under 26 minutes [which P.S. I BLEW AWAY] that I didn't "need" to. Go on?

A: You should do what you enjoy because it gives you pleasure and try to control your obsessive compulsive nature.  ...which I guess I do feel responsible for because you inherited that from me.

Q: But it's called a RACE! Why wouldn't I race it and try to be as fast as possible?

A: It's just a matter of how high you set your goals.

Q: You're not making sense.

A: So?

Q: Well played. So, does this all look okay? Do you like this?

A: I don't think people are interested in my foolishness. But if you think so. If you like it, I like it.




I like it very much, indeed.

I LOVE YOU, MOM!